Nissan has announced details of a major investment to create a Gigafactory at its existing Sunderland car plant, which will help supercharge the production of electric vehicles. The Japanese manufacturer has said that the £1bn Gigafactory, built in partnership with Chinese manufacturer Envision, will create 900 jobs at Nissan plus 750 at Envision – with an overall job creation of 6,200 to include the supply chain.

The announcement has been welcomed by the car industry but the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has confirmed that more investment will be needed to deliver the battery capacity the UK needs. The investment has also been welcomed by the West Midlands partnership behind plans to deliver a Gigafactory at Coventry Airport.

Cllr Jim O’Boyle, Cabinet Member for Jobs, Regeneration and Climate Change at Coventry City Council, commented: “The news that Nissan is investing the UK’s first £1bn Gigafactory today shows just how much appetite there is among car producers for battery manufacturing plants in the UK. The Faraday Institution estimates that the UK will need around eight Gigafactories to meet domestic demand – so this is just the beginning of a Gigafactory revolution.

“We also welcome the Government’s support for the industry and applaud that it has chosen to back a UK car producing company in Sunderland. We need this to continue in all regions of the UK. We hope the West Midlands – where over a third of all cars are produced and which is home to Jaguar Land Rover, BMW, Lotus, and Aston Martin Lagonda – will be next. We will continue to work with the Government to fight for battery production in our region and create thousands of jobs.”